Board mulls state superintendent job description

Classroom experience a must, some officials from Paradise Valley say

Arizona's superintendent of public instruction should have classroom experience and should not be an elected official, some Paradise Valley Unified School board members say.

"It seems absolutely ludicrous to me to create positions that ... any 18-year-old can be elected to, because they are registered to vote in the state of Arizona," board President Sue Skidmore said.

The issue came up at a board meeting this month, before the Arizona School Board Association considers on next Saturday whether to stop advocating that the state's top education leader be a certified educator.

Board member Julie Bacon, who is the district's ASBA delegate, is troubled by the idea, which came from the Saddle Mountain Unified School District in the far Southwest Valley.

Bacon said that historically ASBA actually has sought to change the Arizona Constitution to require that the state superintendent of public instruction have a teaching, principal or superintendent certification.

"We talk about this a lot -- the deprofessionalization of teaching -- and how we think that anyone can walk into a classroom and can teach. Those of us in that community know that is absolutely not true," said Bacon, a former school social worker. "My concern about this proposal is that the person in charge of our schools does not have to have knowledge of teaching or schools."

John Huppenthal, Arizona superintendent of public instruction since January 2011, previously worked for the Salt River Project as a senior planning analyst. While a member of the Legislature, he chaired the Senate Education Committee but has never worked in public education.

Huppenthal did not return calls for comment.

Nancy Case, a homemaker and former retail buyer, said the superintendent of public instruction should not be required to be a professional educator. Since board members are not required to be certified instructors, she said, "then why should we require the superintendent to be certified?"

Anne Greenberg, who sits on ASBA's legislative committee, disagreed.

"The best person for that job should have worked in education at some point in time. That person, as a policy maker, is the sole decision maker, unlike school boards where no one has a single vote," she said.

For Skidmore, the biggest problem in selecting Arizona's superintendent is that the person is elected.

"There should not be a Democrat or Republican or an independent serving in that position for four years. That person should be hired by the State Board of Education, and the State Board of Education should set the criteria," said Skidmore, a former school district superintendent.

Case, who has tutored children, believes one can be informed about education without having worked in the field.

"You can get someone who is very supportive for education who doesn't have a teaching certificate who has educated themselves on teaching, like I have," she said. "I don't have a teaching certificate, but I understand a lot about what goes into teaching."

Board member Mark Lane, a photographer, agreed that the superintendent and other leaders shouldn't have to be professional educators. "I'm not an expert on education, but I rely on others around me," he said.

Like Skidmore, Lane's main concern is that the state's education leader is an elected official. "I think it should be nonpartisan, just like we are here," he said.